7/28/2012 - Putnamville Clash

By CAREY FOX
Times Sports Editor
PUTNAMVILLE – The 25th running of the Putnamville Clash was on tap for a 27-car
sprint car field on Saturday night at Lincoln Park Speedway and the fans were
treated to an exciting finish as Shane Cottle made a late pass of Casey Shuman
to claim the checkered flag.
Shuman led from the opening green flag and appeared to be on his way to another
feature win on the Putnamville oval in 2012. He masterfully worked lapped
traffic while building a solid advantage over Seth Parker and Cottle. The lead
trio in turn had a sizable advantage ahead of AJ Hopkins, Jonathan Hendrick,
Josh Burton and Logan Jarrett.
With Shuman managing lapped traffic in the mid-point of the race, Cottle was
able to begin reeling in the leader after getting past Parker on a re-start. AJ
Francis would bring out the red flag with six laps remaining when he flipped
over turn two.
Cottle would make the most out of the late opportunity as he stuck a slider on
Shuman in turn four and made it count in taking the lead. Once he was out front
in the Epperson Painting, Infinity Shocks, Spike Chassis, Claxton Engine-powered
No. 2, Cottle wasn’t going to be caught.
Cottle crossed the line several car lengths ahead of Shuman with Parker,
Hopkins, Brady Short, Hendrick, Burton, James Bradshaw, Jarrett and Nick Drake.
In the UMP Modified A-main, Paul Bumgardner continued a second half surge to
another Lincoln Park points championship by working the bottom line past the
leaders to a victory.
Kenny Carmichael Jr. started on the front row alongside his father and had the
point early on as the duo built a small gap ahead of Craig Conyer, Aaron
Zellers, Bumgardner and Rob Fuqua. As Carmichael Jr. fronted the field,
Carmichael Sr. had him in his sights as Bumgardner chose the bottom line to make
his charge to the front.
Bumgardner worked his way methodically through the top-five into a battle with
Carmichael Sr. for the second position. The pair went wheel-to-wheel for the
chance at the leader before Bumgardner’s set-up on the bottom left him right on
the bumper of Carmichael Jr., who would pull off in the waning laps. Bumgardner
would make his pass stick and pull away to the victory ahead of Conyer, who
debuted his new car and scheme as Carmichael Sr. placed third of the charging
Brian Hayden and Fuqua.
Troy Clark continued a storied season in the UMP Super Stock class on Saturday
night by claiming his seventh feature victory of the year as Steve Peeden
cruised to the finish line in the runner-up position.
Slick Griffin and Peeden started on the front row, but Griffin would lead the
early circuits at Lincoln Park Speedway as Mike Staggs and Clark gave chase.
Peeden stalked the leaders during the beginning stages with Doug McCullough and
Dustin Shoulders close behind. Clark moved into a position to challenge Griffin
on the bottom of the track as Staggs and Peeden battled for the third spot.
However, Clark would get by Griffin and charge to a commanding advantage over
the second stage of the A-main.
Clark, the UMP National Points leader would cruise away from the field to claim
the win as Peeden held down the second spot ahead of Griffin.
Saturday’s bomber feature had a familiar result as CJ Bryan parlayed a front row
starting position into a big lead early on in claiming a victory ahead of team
owner Marlin Burns.
Burns was part of a wild battle for the runner-up spot as Ron Smith and Tim
Wright were part of a five-car pack in pursuit of the second spot. As Bryan
built upon his early advantage, Smith held down the second spot followed by
Wright and a side-by-side battle by Tom Courtney and Burns. While Courtney would
be sidelined late by mechanical problems, Burns would continue his pursuit of
Bryan and the final laps would be a thriller for the fans.
Bryan crossed the finish line ahead of the chasing pack, but Burns would make
his way past Smith after a re-start with five laps left in the feature. The mad
dash to the checkered flags allowed the Crazy 8 Racing Team a 1-2 finish and a
victory lane celebration with their fans and crewmembers. Smith took the third
spot with Wright, Mike Fisher Jr., David Bumgardner, David Wallen, Josh Presley,
Christian Kline and Kevin Kemp.
Saturday night will be a regular show featuring sprint cars, UMP Modifieds,
Super Stocks and bombers.
Lincoln Park Speedway
Sprint car feature
1. Shane Cottle, 2. Casey Shuman, 3. Seth Parker, 4. AJ Hopkins, 5. Brady Short,
6. Jonathan Hendrick, 7. Josh Burton, 8. James Bradshaw, 9. Logan Jarrett, 10.
Nick Drake, 11. Kent Christian, 12. Garrett Abrams, 13. Matt Goodnight, 14.
Conner Donelson, 15. Matt Thompson, 16. AJ Francis, 17. Lance Hayden, 18. Eric
Smith, 19. Rick Vaughn, 20. Keaton Dobbs
B-main winner: Rick Vaughn
UMP Modified feature
1. Paul Bumgardner, 2. Craig Conyer, 3. Kenny Carmichael Sr., 4. Brian Hayden,
5. Rob Fuqua, 6. Aaron Zellers, 7. Duane Lee, 8. Andrew Auler, 9. Carlos
Bumgardner Sr., 10. Jake Humphrey, 11. Michael Kettnich, 12. Jacob Houts, 13.
Kenny Carmichael Jr., 14. Chuck Walden, 15. Brent Hudson, 16. Gary Ricketts, 17.
Chris Kerl, 18. Dan Lewellen, 19. Brian Amos, 20. Scott Ricketts
UMP Super Stock feature
1. Troy Clark, 2. Steve Peeden, 3. Slick Griffin, 4. Doug McCullough, 5. Mike
Staggs, 6. Kenny Carmichael Sr., 7. Dustin Shoulders, 8. AJ Clark, 9. Kenny
Carmichael Jr., 10. JR Watkins, 11. Josh McDaniel, 12. Steve Ware, 13. Jacob
Wright, 14. Travis Heramb, 15. Kris Starks
Bomber feature
1. CJ Bryan, 2. Marlin Burns, 3. Ron Smith, 4. Tim Wright, 5. Mike Fisher Jr.,
6. David Bumgardner, 7. David Wallen, 8. Josh Presley, 9. Christian Kline, 10.
Kevin Kemp, 11. Jeff Beggs, 12. Frank Cotton, 13. Blake Cross, 14. Jerry Hutto,
15. Megan Cavaness, 16. Tom Courtney, 17. Doug Parker, 18. Marcus Styleburg, 19.
Josh Settles